Sociology.

Doctoral Degree•117 Institutions

Completers Only: Federal median earnings data strictly reflects outcomes for students who successfully graduated. Students who do not complete their degree typically earn significantly less and face higher risks of debt default.

Annual Full Cost vs. Median Earnings

Each dot represents one program at an institution. Shows the spread of annual sticker price (or net price if sticker price is unavailable) vs earnings 4 years post-grad.

Field Median ($74,576)

P25-P75 Interval ($64,990 - $81,111)

HS Baseline ($35,872)

Breakeven Line (0% ROI)

Institution	State	Earnings	Avg Net Price	Median Debt	Lifetime Value Added
University of California-Los Angeles Los Angeles	CA	$103,675 Nat: $88,618 4yr Post-Grad	$12,548 /yr	-	+$76k
University of California-Berkeley Berkeley	CA	$101,699 Nat: $88,618 4yr Post-Grad	$13,481 /yr	-	+$58k
University of Alabama at Birmingham Birmingham	AL	- Nat: $88,618	$18,749 /yr	-	-$0
University of Arizona Tucson	AZ	- Nat: $88,618	$16,674 /yr	-	-$0
University of California-Riverside Riverside	CA	- Nat: $88,618	$14,304 /yr	-	-$0
University of California-San Diego La Jolla	CA	- Nat: $88,618	$12,470 /yr	-	-$0
University of California-San Francisco San Francisco	CA	- Nat: $88,618	- /yr	-	-$0
University of California-Santa Barbara Santa Barbara	CA	- Nat: $88,618	$16,109 /yr	-	-$0
University of California-Santa Cruz Santa Cruz	CA	- Nat: $88,618	$17,890 /yr	-	-$0
University of Southern California Los Angeles	CA	- Nat: $88,618	$32,740 /yr	-	-$0
Colorado State University-Fort Collins Fort Collins	CO	- Nat: $88,618	$21,279 /yr	-	-$0
University of Connecticut Storrs	CT	- Nat: $88,618	$25,097 /yr	-	-$0
Yale University New Haven	CT	- Nat: $88,618	$23,777 /yr	-	-$0
University of Delaware Newark	DE	- Nat: $88,618	$17,799 /yr	-	-$0
Howard University Washington	DC	- Nat: $88,618	$50,539 /yr	-	-$0
University of Central Florida Orlando	FL	- Nat: $88,618	$10,411 /yr	-	-$0
Florida International University Miami	FL	- Nat: $88,618	$9,288 /yr	-	-$0
Florida State University Tallahassee	FL	- Nat: $88,618	$11,297 /yr	-	-$0
University of Florida Gainesville	FL	- Nat: $88,618	$6,541 /yr	-	-$0
University of Miami Coral Gables	FL	- Nat: $88,618	$37,244 /yr	-	-$0
University of South Florida Tampa	FL	- Nat: $88,618	$9,812 /yr	-	-$0
Emory University Atlanta	GA	- Nat: $88,618	$22,585 /yr	-	-$0
Georgia State University Atlanta	GA	- Nat: $88,618	$15,931 /yr	-	-$0
University of Georgia Athens	GA	- Nat: $88,618	$13,936 /yr	-	-$0
University of Hawaii at Manoa Honolulu	HI	- Nat: $88,618	$15,664 /yr	-	-$0
University of Chicago Chicago	IL	- Nat: $88,618	$14,860 /yr	-	-$0
University of Illinois Chicago Chicago	IL	- Nat: $88,618	$10,974 /yr	-	-$0
University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign Champaign	IL	- Nat: $88,618	$14,355 /yr	-	-$0
Loyola University Chicago Chicago	IL	- Nat: $88,618	$36,079 /yr	-	-$0
Northwestern University Evanston	IL	- Nat: $88,618	$29,167 /yr	-	-$0
Southern Illinois University-Carbondale Carbondale	IL	- Nat: $88,618	$13,297 /yr	-	-$0
University of Notre Dame Notre Dame	IN	- Nat: $88,618	$26,780 /yr	-	-$0
Iowa State University Ames	IA	- Nat: $88,618	$18,589 /yr	-	-$0
University of Iowa Iowa City	IA	- Nat: $88,618	$22,531 /yr	-	-$0
University of Kansas Lawrence	KS	- Nat: $88,618	$18,059 /yr	-	-$0
Kansas State University Manhattan	KS	- Nat: $88,618	$19,406 /yr	-	-$0
University of Kentucky Lexington	KY	- Nat: $88,618	$18,851 /yr	-	-$0
University of Louisville Louisville	KY	- Nat: $88,618	$17,988 /yr	-	-$0
Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Baton Rouge	LA	- Nat: $88,618	$19,151 /yr	-	-$0
Tulane University of Louisiana New Orleans	LA	- Nat: $88,618	$39,949 /yr	-	-$0
Johns Hopkins University Baltimore	MD	- Nat: $88,618	$18,809 /yr	-	-$0
University of Maryland-College Park College Park	MD	- Nat: $88,618	$15,678 /yr	-	-$0
Boston College Chestnut Hill	MA	- Nat: $88,618	$41,704 /yr	-	-$0
Boston University Boston	MA	- Nat: $88,618	$24,402 /yr	-	-$0
Brandeis University Waltham	MA	- Nat: $88,618	$35,736 /yr	-	-$0
Harvard University Cambridge	MA	- Nat: $88,618	$19,066 /yr	-	-$0
University of Massachusetts-Amherst Amherst	MA	- Nat: $88,618	$22,383 /yr	-	-$0
University of Massachusetts-Boston Boston	MA	- Nat: $88,618	$17,707 /yr	-	-$0
Northeastern University Boston	MA	- Nat: $88,618	$30,915 /yr	-	-$0
University of Michigan-Ann Arbor Ann Arbor	MI	- Nat: $88,618	$13,138 /yr	-	-$0
Michigan State University East Lansing	MI	- Nat: $88,618	$19,680 /yr	-	-$0
Wayne State University Detroit	MI	- Nat: $88,618	$12,766 /yr	-	-$0
Western Michigan University Kalamazoo	MI	- Nat: $88,618	$15,273 /yr	-	-$0
University of Minnesota-Twin Cities Minneapolis	MN	- Nat: $88,618	$16,778 /yr	-	-$0
Mississippi State University Mississippi State	MS	- Nat: $88,618	$17,595 /yr	-	-$0
University of Missouri-Columbia Columbia	MO	- Nat: $88,618	$20,268 /yr	-	-$0
University of Nebraska-Lincoln Lincoln	NE	- Nat: $88,618	$17,747 /yr	-	-$0
University of Nevada-Las Vegas Las Vegas	NV	- Nat: $88,618	$10,359 /yr	-	-$0
University of New Hampshire-Main Campus Durham	NH	- Nat: $88,618	$23,805 /yr	-	-$0
Princeton University Princeton	NJ	- Nat: $88,618	$6,128 /yr	-	-$0
Rutgers University-New Brunswick New Brunswick	NJ	- Nat: $88,618	$24,406 /yr	-	-$0
University of New Mexico-Main Campus Albuquerque	NM	- Nat: $88,618	$15,489 /yr	-	-$0
Columbia University in the City of New York New York	NY	- Nat: $88,618	$21,590 /yr	-	-$0
Cornell University Ithaca	NY	- Nat: $88,618	$28,690 /yr	-	-$0
The New School New York	NY	- Nat: $88,618	$58,741 /yr	-	-$0
New York University New York	NY	- Nat: $88,618	$37,050 /yr	-	-$0
University at Albany Albany	NY	- Nat: $88,618	$17,167 /yr	-	-$0
University at Buffalo Buffalo	NY	- Nat: $88,618	$20,995 /yr	-	-$0
Stony Brook University Stony Brook	NY	- Nat: $88,618	$18,784 /yr	-	-$0
Syracuse University Syracuse	NY	- Nat: $88,618	$38,793 /yr	-	-$0
Teachers College at Columbia University New York	NY	- Nat: $88,618	- /yr	-	-$0
Duke University Durham	NC	- Nat: $88,618	$29,612 /yr	-	-$0
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Chapel Hill	NC	- Nat: $88,618	$11,655 /yr	-	-$0
North Carolina State University at Raleigh Raleigh	NC	- Nat: $88,618	$17,303 /yr	-	-$0
University of Akron Main Campus Akron	OH	- Nat: $88,618	$13,946 /yr	-	-$0
Bowling Green State University-Main Campus Bowling Green	OH	- Nat: $88,618	$24,022 /yr	-	-$0
Case Western Reserve University Cleveland	OH	- Nat: $88,618	$41,190 /yr	-	-$0
University of Cincinnati-Main Campus Cincinnati	OH	- Nat: $88,618	$25,648 /yr	-	-$0
Kent State University at Kent Kent	OH	- Nat: $88,618	$20,787 /yr	-	-$0
Ohio State University-Main Campus Columbus	OH	- Nat: $88,618	$17,339 /yr	-	-$0
Oklahoma State University-Main Campus Stillwater	OK	- Nat: $88,618	$17,447 /yr	-	-$0
University of Oklahoma-Norman Campus Norman	OK	- Nat: $88,618	$15,300 /yr	-	-$0
University of Oregon Eugene	OR	- Nat: $88,618	$22,182 /yr	-	-$0
Portland State University ⚠️ Caution: This institution flagged for high risk factors (low completion/older demographics) that may artificially inflate its ROI. Portland	OR	- Nat: $88,618	$9,552 /yr	-	-$0
Pennsylvania State University-Main Campus University Park	PA	- Nat: $88,618	$32,875 /yr	-	-$0
University of Pennsylvania Philadelphia	PA	- Nat: $88,618	$28,699 /yr	-	-$0
University of Pittsburgh-Pittsburgh Campus Pittsburgh	PA	- Nat: $88,618	$30,434 /yr	-	-$0
Brown University Providence	RI	- Nat: $88,618	$25,184 /yr	-	-$0
South Dakota State University Brookings	SD	- Nat: $88,618	$19,841 /yr	-	-$0
The University of Tennessee-Knoxville Knoxville	TN	- Nat: $88,618	$18,976 /yr	-	-$0
Vanderbilt University Nashville	TN	- Nat: $88,618	$15,846 /yr	-	-$0
Baylor University Waco	TX	- Nat: $88,618	$41,104 /yr	-	-$0
Rice University Houston	TX	- Nat: $88,618	$13,370 /yr	-	-$0
Texas Woman's University Denton	TX	- Nat: $88,618	$11,963 /yr	-	-$0
Utah State University Logan	UT	- Nat: $88,618	$14,936 /yr	-	-$0
University of Utah Salt Lake City	UT	- Nat: $88,618	$16,200 /yr	-	-$0
George Mason University Fairfax	VA	- Nat: $88,618	$17,915 /yr	-	-$0
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg	VA	- Nat: $88,618	$24,953 /yr	-	-$0
University of Virginia-Main Campus Charlottesville	VA	- Nat: $88,618	$21,565 /yr	-	-$0
Washington State University Pullman	WA	- Nat: $88,618	$14,971 /yr	-	-$0
University of Washington-Seattle Campus Seattle	WA	- Nat: $88,618	$14,091 /yr	-	-$0
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee Milwaukee	WI	- Nat: $88,618	$15,014 /yr	-	-$0
Stanford University Stanford	CA	- Nat: $88,618	$13,807 /yr	-	-$0
Purdue University-Main Campus West Lafayette	IN	- Nat: $88,618	$14,600 /yr	-	-$0
University of Connecticut-Waterbury Campus Waterbury	CT	- Nat: $88,618	$10,875 /yr	-	-$0
University of Connecticut-Avery Point Groton	CT	- Nat: $88,618	$13,807 /yr	-	-$0
University of Connecticut-Stamford Stamford	CT	- Nat: $88,618	$16,798 /yr	-	-$0
University of California-Merced Merced	CA	- Nat: $88,618	$11,983 /yr	-	-$0
University of Connecticut-Hartford Campus Hartford	CT	- Nat: $88,618	$16,403 /yr	-	-$0
University of California-Irvine Irvine	CA	$81,111 Nat: $88,618 2yr Post-Grad	$14,251 /yr	-	-$73k
University of Wisconsin-Madison Madison	WI	$81,111 Nat: $88,618 2yr Post-Grad	$17,354 /yr	-	-$84k
Indiana University-Bloomington Bloomington	IN	$74,576 Nat: $88,618 2yr Post-Grad	$16,264 /yr	-	-$131k
CUNY Graduate School and University Center ⚠️ Caution: This institution flagged for high risk factors (low completion/older demographics) that may artificially inflate its ROI. New York	NY	$63,005 Nat: $88,618 2yr Post-Grad	- /yr	-	-$162k
University of California-Davis Davis	CA	$69,338 Nat: $88,618 2yr Post-Grad	$14,741 /yr	-	-$166k
The University of Texas at Austin Austin	TX	$64,990 Nat: $88,618 2yr Post-Grad	$19,857 /yr	-	-$218k
Texas A&M University-College Station College Station	TX	$57,318 Nat: $88,618 2yr Post-Grad	$21,315 /yr	-	-$285k
University of Colorado Boulder Boulder	CO	$53,358 Nat: $88,618 2yr Post-Grad	$25,346 /yr	-	-$332k

Analysis Notes:

Lifetime Value Added: Net Present Value (NPV) of estimated career earnings relative to a median bachelor's degree holder, accounting for this institution's average cost and taxes.
Avg Net Price: The average price paid by students who receive federal financial aid (grants/loans).Note: For graduate programs, the institution's average undergraduate net price is used as a proxy for annual cost, which may differ from actual graduate tuition and net price.

Important Note: Your ROI with any major will depend on the cost you pay to attend the program, and your starting salary. Both vary significantly across institutions. We encourage you to explore the ROI of a specific program variant by selecting the Program title of the credential level you are interested in. You will then have a more detailed return analysis for programs at specific institutions. We also encourage you to use the ROI calculator, or for more sophisticated analysis, the Guided ROI Interview, with your specific estimates of cost and salary.